Verbs governing the instrumental
In short
| Verb | + bare instrumental |
|---|---|
| baviti se | sportom, muzikom, planinarenjem |
| ponositi se | sinom, decom |
| služiti se | računarom |
| upravljati | firmom, projektima |
| vladati | engleskim jezikom, situacijom |
Pronouns: mnom, tobom, njim, njom, nama, vama, njima.
No sa: sa + instr. = company only (bavim se plesom sa sestrom). Question: Čime se baviš?
B1 · Lesson 16 · Glagoli s objektom u instrumentalu
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
Ask a Serbian what they do for a living or in their free time and you will hear Čime se baviš? — literally "With-what do you occupy yourself?". The answer is Bavim se fotografijom ("I do photography"). Look at the noun: fotografija has become fotografijom. That is the instrumental case, the one you already use for means (pišem olovkom) and, after sa, for company (idem sa sestrom).
Here the instrumental has no preposition at all. The verb itself demands it: whatever you bavite se, upravljate or vladate stands in the bare instrumental, the way the object of most verbs stands in the accusative. This is a property of the verb, so learn the verb together with its case.
The verbs
- baviti se + instrumental — to do, to be engaged in, to deal with (a hobby, a job, a problem): bavim se sportom
- ponositi se + instrumental — to be proud of: ponosim se sinom
- služiti se + instrumental — to use (a tool, a language): služim se računarom
- upravljati + instrumental — to run, to manage, to steer: upravlja firmom
- vladati + instrumental — to rule; to have a command of (a language, a situation): vlada engleskim jezikom
The first three are reflexive: they carry the clitic se, which as always stays the same for every person and sits in second position. The last two have no se. Both groups take the same bare instrumental.
The object: singular, plural and pronoun
| Object | Nominative | Instrumental after the verb |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | sport, jezik | bavi se sportom, vlada jezikom |
| feminine singular | firma, muzika | upravlja firmom, bavi se muzikom |
| neuter singular | planinarenje | bavi se planinarenjem |
| plural (masculine, neuter) | projekti, jezici | upravlja projektima, vlada jezicima |
| plural (feminine) | knjige | bavi se knjigama |
| adjective + noun | mala firma, strani jezik | upravlja malom firmom, vlada stranim jezikom |
When the object is a person referred to by a pronoun, use the full (stressed) instrumental pronoun — the same forms you use after sa, only without the preposition:
| Pronoun | Instrumental | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ja | mnom | Niko ne upravlja mnom. |
| ti | tobom | Ponosim se tobom. |
| on / ono | njim | Ponosimo se njim. |
| ona | njom | Majka se ponosi njom. |
| mi | nama | Ko upravlja nama? |
| vi | vama | Ponosim se vama. |
| oni / one / ona | njima | Ja ću se baviti njima. |
Two instrumentals side by side
The bare instrumental names what you do or manage. Sa + instrumental still means together with whom. One sentence can hold both: Bavim se plesom sa sestrom — "I do dancing with my sister": plesom is the activity, sa sestrom the company.
Never put sa in front of the object of these verbs. English says "deal with a problem", and it is tempting to translate the preposition — but bavim se sa sportom is wrong. Say Bavim se sportom, upravlja firmom, vlada jezikom. Keep sa for a companion only.
The question word follows the same rule: šta in the instrumental is čime. Čime se baviš? — "What do you do?" (for a living or as a hobby). Not sa čim.
Check what you read
3 of the 17 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Moj brat ___.
Moj otac ___ već dvadeset godina.
Ko ___?
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Ponosim se tobom, sine.
I'm proud of you, son.
Ko upravlja ovim preduzećem?
Who runs this business?
Bavim se plesom sa sestrom.
I do dancing with my sister.
Policija više ne vlada situacijom.
The police are no longer in control of the situation.
Moja sestra upravlja malom firmom.
My sister runs a small company.
Ana odlično vlada francuskim jezikom.
Ana has an excellent command of French.
Čime se bavi tvoja majka?
What does your mother do (for a living)?
Niko ne može da upravlja mnom!
Nobody can control me!
Petar se mnogo ponosi svojom decom.
Petar is very proud of his children.
Da li vladaš nekim stranim jezicima?
Do you speak any foreign languages well?
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 30
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
Who runs this business?
Use preduzeće.